What You See
by Ovo
Summary: AU? Gray Edwards is your average superheroic security guard for a small town mental asylum. It is his job to ensure that insane people like Aki Ross get no farther than the parking lot in their wandering. Mr. Edwards does his job well. Or, y'know, not.
1. Prelude to Insanity

_What You See..._

**_ Chapter One_  
Prelude to Insanity**

Aki Ross stepped out of the car and looked around at the alleyway. She sighed deeply and closed the car's door before starting off towards one of the more active main streets. She acted strangely, examining things no one would think of, and nervously avoiding other people. What she saw, and heard, was different from what everyone else did. They failed to see what she could.

She walked down the sidewalk, unseen by people and she paid them no heed. The boulevard was crammed with vendors in the evening light; a street fair of some kind was taking place. Aki saw none of this as she continued on her way.

**---**

Gray Edwards cursed his luck. Of all things… How did this woman come to be the bane of his already miserable existence?

"Do any of you see her yet?" he asked, trying to look through the crowd.

"You expect us to identify one woman in a crowd of hundreds," Neil said, straightening his hat, "Give us a coupl'a minutes."

"I'll stay with the car," Robert said confidently, walking back towards the parking lot. Gray might have complained, but Ryan got his attention first.

"Hey, is that her?" he asked, pointing to a woman examining a nearby vendor's booth. Something frightened the girl, and she fled towards them. This allowed Gray to get a good look at her face.

"Yeah, that's her," he nodded, "Come on." He started towards the woman, who virtually ran into him anyway, "You've got to come with us," he started calmly, taking hold of her hand.

Without warning she shouted something and pulled away from him. She ran off towards an alley, and he sighed.

"Well that was good," Jane remarked, "Not drawing attention to ourselves whatsoever."

"Let's just go get her," Gray grumbled, starting off after the woman, "Okay?"

"Sure thing."

"Yep."

"Whatever."

**---**

Aki followed the alleyway. She heard her pursuers trailing her, but didn't look back. They caught up with her quickly, and suddenly one of the men in steel-gray uniforms grabbed her arm, "It isn't safe out here."

"Let go!" Aki shouted, "I have to find it." Again she twisted away, and began to run down a connected lane.

**---**

"Goddamn," Gray cursed. He ran after her, his coworkers close behind him. After months of not having to deal with her, the inpatient had finally escaped again. All because of the simple fact that the administrator didn't lock his car.

When they caught up to her, she was back on the main street. They almost didn't notice her, but she was standing nearby a florist's stall, looking over the plants there. She picked up one as they were approaching, and inspected it carefully.

"We have to go back, _now_," Gray made another attempt. Aki ignored him as she studied the plant.

"Look, lady," Ryan tried his luck, "We've gotta go back, or we're gonna get in trouble."

Aki looked up at the dark-skinned man, and blinked, "Yes, we have to get back."

"Good," Gray said, smiling nervously at Ryan, "Let's just put this…."

"No!" Aki cried as he tried to take the plant, "No, we need to bring it with us."

"That'll be six dollars, sir," the florist said, "For the plant…."

"No thanks, we don't want it," Gray replied, still wrestling with Aki over the plant. She started to scream, and people stopped to watch the scene.

"It's all right, folks," Neil grinned at the growing crowd, "We're professionals."

"Professionals," Jane snickered, "Right."

Neil dug into one of his pockets and paid the woman for the plant, "That simple, man."

"Let's just get out of here," Gray growled, "Before Rob decides to leave us behind."

They pushed their way through the crowd, back towards the parking lot where Robert waited with the car. When they got there, a problem regarding seating arose. In the end, Ryan, Neil, and Jane ended up crushed into the back, while Aki and Gray had to share a seat up front. Much to his fellows envy, Robert got his own seat, as he was the one to drive.

"Look," Gray tried to explain to Aki, "You can't keep running away like this."

"I don't need your advice," the woman grumbled, examining her plant.

Gray sighed. Of all the jobs he'd ever held, this had to be one of the worst. He removed his hat and scratched his head, and stopped when he found Aki staring at him, "What?"

"It's you," she said, sounding surprised. Gray paled. She'd finally recognized him. The laughter from the backseat informed him it wasn't his imagination. Yeah, a patient that had a thing for him. _Wonderful_.

"Shut up back there," he snapped, "And you… keep your eyes on the road."

"Sorry, Gray," Robert apologized, the amusement still present in his voice. The laughter behind him continued.

And his shift had just begun. How he loved working for the Ironwood Mental Institution.


	2. A Return to Hell!

_What You See..._

_**Chapter Two**_  
**A Return to Hell!**

Gray was already halfway out of the car before it was fully parked. It was not that he found Aki unattractive or anything. It was just that she, and most of the other mental patients, scared the living daylights out of him.

And Aki in particular seemed to _like_ him. It was something that, if it got out of hand, could lose him his job.

Which was why he would make sure it never get out of hand.

"Good luck, you guys," Robert said cheerfully, snapping Gray out of his thoughts, "Have a good night." He heard his fellow night staff reply in not dissimilar tones, but the best he could manage was a low mumble.

Robert was one of the daytime security staff, and, like everyone in a daytime position, was the object of Gray's envy. He could not complain, though, as Robert was a very generous man, and often helped the hospital on his own time. Like, recapturing runaway patients, for example.

By the time Gray looked up, the car, along with Robert, was gone. He realized, with a feeling of dread, that Aki was also missing. Again.

"Where'd she go?" he asked anxiously, "She was jus…"

He trailed off as he caught sight of her behind Ryan, and sighed in relief, "Alright, let's…." he was going to say, "go inside now," but the others had already started across the yard towards the doors. He grumbled some complaints under his breath and followed them.

**---**

The security rating of the institution was one of the highest in the state. Neil often wondered if that was truly the case why there were so many escapes from the place. After every breakout, security got tighter, and every day more and more items were added to the list of things that were not allowed on the asylum grounds.

Neil suddenly realized that the contents of his own pockets were dubious at best. Searches of staff had become mandatory, albeit irritating. The only people that were never searched were the supervising scientists.

He quickly found a safe method of disposal for whatever he thought would get him into trouble, and stepped forward for inspection.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked cheerily, watching Jane get frisked by the front desk worker. Turnabout was fair play, after all….

**---**

Gray stood still, keeping an eye on Aki, and allowing the receptionist to thoroughly search his clothes without trouble.

"What's this?" the man asked, fishing something out of one of Gray's front pants pockets.

"What's what?" Gray wondered. He never carried anything in his pockets….

"This," the man held the packet of bubble gum in front of Gray's eyes. The confused younger man might have replied had a sudden flash of pain and the sound of shattering pottery not suddenly invaded his sense of perception.

Stunned, Gray fell forward.

Surprised, Ryan rushed to catch his friend.

Shocked, the rest of the present staff could only watch in amusement-tinged confusion as Aki began snapping orders.

"Put him on the table," the touched woman said, placing the now potless plant on the counter. She stared at the people surrounding her, wondering what they were dawdling over. Obviously, this man needed help!

"Just… let her do her thing," Neil reasoned as some of the others began to act, "It'll be easier that way."

Ryan looked around uneasily. There was no table, only the front desk. A quick glance at Aki reminded him whom he was dealing with, and, with that sudden insight, he lifted Gray onto the counter. Neil was right; it was always easier to simply let the crazies have their way. _Flawed logic_, Ryan thought, _if these people are supposed to be encouraged towards the better._

Gray was recovering, but Aki held him down. He realized that if he tried to get away, he risked either hurting Aki or making a mess of the papers, files, and things that were so carefully lain out under and around him; either of which would bring trouble back to him later. So he stayed still as she reached over him and grabbed something off the desk. He shot an angry, why-the-hell-aren't-you-helping-you-bastards glance at his coworkers. What were they thinking? Just standing there like that…

After a few minutes of scribbling furiously, Aki backed off and allowed Gray to get up. An attendant retrieved the magic marker from her as Gray slid off the desk carefully to avoid attention or, to a lesser degree, disturbing the papers. He tried not to think about the deep black marks that now marred his uniform, and probably his skin beneath it.

"Are you okay?" the secretary asked, seemingly the only one truly concerned. Gray grunted an incoherent reply and watched Aki from the corner of his eye. She was one of the more docile inmates, and why she would suddenly attack him was beyond his comprehension.

_At any rate, I won't have to deal with her for a while_, he thought, pleased to see that the woman's uncle had arrived. Someone had probably called him when Aki had escaped. Which meant the visiting staff dealt with it.

He shot a glance to where Jane and Ryan were conspiring amongst themselves, and inadvertently overlooked Neil, who was repossessing the now forgotten packet of gum.


	3. Smoothings of a Plan

_What You See..._

_**Chapter Three**_  
**Smoothings of a Plan**

The elderly gentleman sat down on the bed, eyeing mistrustfully the man who sought to ensure his comfort before taking his leave from the small room. The elder sighed discontentedly, but smiled at his niece nonetheless. She was healthy, frisky, and seemingly happy.

Even so, he knew they wouldn't allow him to take her home. Her delusions, they claimed, were getting worse. He saw no change, knowing she had been this way all her life. How could they get worse if they had never been better?

"Yes, my dear," he smiled as she so proudly displayed her plant, and he reminded himself to thank whoever had gotten it for her, "It's very nice. Ivy isn't it?"

"I'm not sure," Aki examined the plant closely before again displaying it, "But it is what we're looking for, isn't it?"

"I suppose it must be," Sid replied. He never saw the problem with feeding her fancies. After all, if she was going to be like this for the rest of her life, why not make her happy? Besides, he had enough experience with her to know how to pull her out of a bad hallucination when she had one.

She smiled, and put the plant back on the small shelf affixed to the wall of her room. The movement woke one of the shelf's other occupants – a small, caged bird – that chirped its disapproval at the disturbance.

"He looks hungry," Sid observed, "Maybe you should feed him." He suddenly wondered where the bird had come from, since the security was supposed to be so strict. Then again, there was the plant too. He frowned. Nothing like suspicion to spoil his visits.

"I think we should finish first," Aki replied, dumping the contents of a bag, mostly art supplies and paper, near her uncle, "We're so close, we just need to…." She trailed off as her sight rested on the bird, and she blinked as it trilled.

When she moved to feed the creature, Sid sifted over what had been dropped so close to him. Pictures, drawn expertly in pencil or beautifully painted with…. There were tubes of watercolor in the pile, which was what the images must have been painted with. The elderly man marveled over where his dead sister's daughter had gained such talent.

Then again, if he knew anything about the staff here, this could be trouble. These, the conceptions of a madwoman, however mysterious or intriguing, would not help his case. He carefully gathered the paper and the artwork together and placed it in its bag. He would take it with him when he left, but Aki was staring at him.

"What are you doing?" she pouted.

"I'm going to take this with me," Sid smiled reassuringly, "I'm going to keep them at home, and when we get you out of here you can paint all you want. But until then, you shouldn't give them any reason to keep you here." The more he thought of it, the more she seemed to intelligently reason. But all that reason seemed to be in another place….

He shook his head slowly, and carefully stood. He knew she understood that he was trying to help, all he could do was hope for the best.

"Be good," he directed as he left, "Don't go causing trouble, and leave poor Mr. Edwards alone, he seems to have enough to deal with as it is."

And the idea struck.

**---**

Gray walked along the small garden path, intent on focusing on the better things in life. After all, it wasn't like he had to do that much for his job. No one cared what he did, as long as he was there to stop intruders and escapees, and walk around a lot. They didn't want his help with most of the facilities business. Still, something was tugging at the edge of his mind….

"Excuse me," the voice was familiar, just where had… oh, right.

"Chuck something, right?" Gray asked, politely waiting for the man to catch up with him. What could he want? And why hadn't he gone home yet? "Aren't you supposed to have left by now? It's past visiting hours."

"Charles Sid," the old man answered, "I have a favor to ask you."

"What would that be?" Gray didn't mean to sound impassive, but he just wasn't in the mood.

"Well, you've been having trouble with my niece recently, right?"

"Yeah, she's been more and more restless," the younger man nodded in response, "Nothing overly difficult, just irritating."

"You know we've been trying to bring her home, right?" Sid strongly hoped this man would help, even if it were out of pity.

"No, not really. But I don't deal with that kind of thing."

The elder furrowed his brow, "Well, I'm retired, and my son is willing to help me care for her. We really do have adequate care, but the hospital won't let her go, and no one else will do anything."

"I really don't see what this had to do with me," Gray spoke the truth. Helping wasn't too far from his appeal, but he didn't see where he could help.

"We have a hearing the day after tomorrow," Sid explained, "Please, I'm asking you to speak on her behalf. After that, if we succeed, you never have to deal with us again."

A few moments passed, and Gray laughed quietly, "I'll see what I can do, but I doubt they'll listen to me. They don't hold me in very high regard."

"Thank you for trying, at least," Sid beamed, "I'm sure we'll have it this time. No need to worry, soon we'll be out of your hair for good."

Gray mumbled something under his breath as he watched the elderly man walk away. Even if Aki left the hospital, there would be someone to replace her. And knowing his luck, it would be an even worse lunatic.


	4. The Fair and Lawful Judgement of the Boa...

_What You See..._

_**Chapter Four**_  
**The Fair and Lawful Judgement of the Board **_  
_

They waited their turn for a hearing, while others went before them. The kindhearted board of the hospital made it a rule that every patient had at least one chance to be released per every three months; though rarely did the chance turn the patient's benefit. More often then not, these evaluations only tacked more time onto the poor individual's stay.

Sid hoped that, with any luck, this would not be the outcome of his at-request examination. He glanced sideways at his niece, and praised his luck that she seemed well behaved and, if one didn't know better, sane. He didn't need them to release her as a recovered woman; all he wanted was to give her a better life.

While they waited for their turn, the old man watched the other inpatients before them. He recognized a few, none of which would be leaving any time soon.

Time passed, seemingly taking longer than it should have, as though mocking the old man. Not that he cared, having little better to do with it. He could think of better things, yes, but until this was over with… well, there was nothing he'd rather be doing.

Gray, on the other hand, sat impatiently on the other side of the waiting room. He _did _have better things to do – like sleep. He had hard enough time staying on a nocturnal schedule due to nature, let alone the upstairs neighbors, and the construction on the street outside his apartment. And he had to go grocery shopping, or so his memory suddenly informed him. He glared at those across from him, those that would so ruin his life… and made no impact whatsoever.

He gave up, and let his head fall back against the wall.

Two hours passed before they were admitted to the board. The man before them was a fellow that flittered between lives as often as most people did the same through forms vicarious entertainment. Usually, he was some historic person or another. Sometimes he got them wrong, although it was all the same to him. This month, he was a soldier from the American Civil War.

And intent, with the permission of the 'Major,' upon sticking around after his session was over. The administrator, being his lenient self, allowed this and the 'soldier' stood by the door as the proceedings started.

The middle-aged man seated at the center of the board members cleared his throat, and began.

"P.F. number," the man moved his hands to read one of the papers before him, "7259, Aki Ross. Mr. Sid…"

"_Doctor _Sid," the called corrected.

"How can we help you, sir?" the board member asked, ignoring the interruption.

The old man sighed, already knowing how this was going to turn out, "I wish you to release _my_ niece into _my_ custody."

"For what reason?"

If Sid could have found a way to banish this board to the outermost reaches of space, he would have. "I believe it would be more beneficent for her to be surrounded by family rather than white walls and iron bars," he answered with a slight hint of bitterness. "Sit down, Aki," he whispered to the squirming woman beside him.

"Everything considered, do you thi-" the man stalled, noticing something he hadn't before, "Edwards, what the hell are you doing?"

"Huh?" Gray, who had been nigh invisible to everyone present, sat up in his chair and blinked sleepily.

"I asked what you're doing here. You're supposed to be gone for the night,"

"I, uh…" the younger man looked around himself, and at the elder to his right, "Oh, I'm here to say that the Doctor is correct and that Ms. Ross could stand a better chance at recovery elsewhere." _Somewhere far away._

"I see," the man leaned back and the board members whispered amongst themselves. After a few minutes, the man continued, "We'll think it over, and tell you within two weeks." With that, the officials were over, and Gray felt a sudden unwelcome for his party.

"No you won't," Sid grumbled to himself, standing and urging Aki to do the same.

The patient at the door, picking up on the cold air that suddenly enveloped the room, decided to step in and help.

"See?" he demanded, "This is the kind of oppression I'm talking about." He moved to console Aki, who shied away from the contact. She rebuked him – something that, to his reality, wasn't anything of the sort.

An argument raged, and Gray ducked out when he saw the chance. He was off duty, after all. However, his sudden misgivings about the stability of his job followed him out the door and soon caught up with him, and he tried not to think back to the little voice in his head that said he wasn't going to be working here much longer.


	5. KeyGun Saves the Day

_What You See..._

_**Chapter Five**_  
**KeyGun Saves the Day**

It wasn't so bad… he hadn't seen another soul all evening, which meant someone was doing his job. Or maybe aliens had come and killed everyone when he wasn't looking.

Whichever worked.

He wandered back towards reception, content in his rounds. There he stopped. He had heard typing, and assumed it was one of the secretaries. However, the man at the desk hardly qualified as a secretary. Gray narrowed his eyes; Neil wasn't supposed to have access to the computers – none of the security personnel were.

So he stepped up, placed his hands on his hips, and asked as politely as possible, "What do you think you're doing?" Neil startled, but turned to look at him nonetheless. There was a long silence, before Neil replied.

"Playing solitaire?" Had it not been for the questioning tone, or had he not seen the monitor clearly from where he stood, Gray might not have questioned that.

"Oh, really?"

Neil shrugged, swiveling in his chair slightly. Without warning, he sprung from his seat, scrambled over the desk and fell heavily to the other side. He was quite far ahead by the time Gray got around the furniture and took chase.

**---**

Gray scowled. He had seen Neil turn this corner, but the hall was empty. He stalked down the corridor, and turned his head at the precise second to see a shadow move over a slightly opened door.

Since that was the only open door in the hall, and since he doubted his Neil could have made it to the end of the hall without his seeing him, he crept through the door as quietly as he could. The door screeched, and he winced. The only other person in the broom closet had his full attention, and was staring at him with over-emotional eyes.

Impulsive hesitation whether it was his job to deal with this or investigate the other struck, and Gray cursed under his breath; yet still spoke too soon. The door behind him closed suddenly, pushing him forward and against Aki.

Apologizing – to himself mostly – he tried to open the locked door without any success. Nonplussed, he tried more desperately, and to no avail.

**---**

Neil thanked whatever luck he had; hiding behind the door had been a last resort, and he'd been quite sure that he would be caught. It didn't help too much, seeing as the situation still existed, but it gave him a reprieve.

Backing away from the threat, he startled as he hit a wall. He noticed that a few feet to the left was an adjoining corridor. He rushed around the corner it provided, and ran straight into Ryan. Out of surprise, he jumped, chirped, and did a little dance. Ryan watched motionless, and waited until the display was over to ask, "Should I ask what that was about?"

"I got found out," Neil squirmed at the suddenly exasperated expression that crossed his friends face, and he attempted to correct the predicament, "It's okay; everything's all right… I locked him in the closet!" He grinned at his own cleverness.

Ryan sighed. It was no wonder… no wonder at all, "Let him out."

"What? Why?" Neil cringed and his smile faded to something more fearful.

"Because I said so," his accomplice replied, and pointed to the door.

"But I don't have the key!"

**---**

Jane strolled at a leisurely pace, content to nibble ever daintily at her cherry liquorice.

She'd been surprised to discover a candy stocked vending machine, as strangely placed as it was; but regardless reordered this as only, 'second worst assignment ever,' because of it. For if chocolate was God, cherry liquorice was king.

Coming to the intersection of hallways, she stopped, noticing the strange goings on just around the corner.

"Look, someone will find him, okay?" Neil whined, and hit the door. Aside from the strike, the door reverberated again, causing him to inch away slowly.

"We're here to help people, Neil," Ryan reminded him, trying his best to be a calm, understanding person. On the outside, he was doing quite well.

"You're not doing a very good job," Neil mumbled, looking over his shoulder, "Oh, hi Jane." She only blinked at him, and he went back to staring at the doorframe.

"He locked the night watchman in the closet; one of the inmates is with him," Ryan explained at that oh, so inquisitive look the woman gave him, "She has the key, and the door is locked."

"Why doesn't he just unlock it from the inside?" Jane asked skeptically. It wasn't _that_ hard to figure out….

"We don't think he knows, and we don't want to shout and call attention to ourselves…. Neil got himself caught."

"That figures," she replied, "Nice going."

"Thank you," Neil smiled up at the door handle, "I try. Hard in fact."

"I'll be right back," Jane stated in a 'don't go anywhere,' tone. When she returned, she had with her a device that Neil could only describe as a cross between a stable gun and a… something he wasn't quite sure. She fit it to the lock, and soon after the door was opened.

Ryan was not so enthused.

"Where did you get that?" he demanded, startling both his coconspirators by behavior.

"Field office," Jane said as he confiscated the thing, "I was going to give it back…."

**---**

Gray tried the door every two minutes. It didn't give in. To his remaining sanity, he wished it would give in. If he only he could talk to it, _explain_ to it the necessity to escape….

And then the door opened, just like that. His heart leapt for joy, and his body leapt for the freedom presented.

He straightened himself out in presentation to those outside. Feigning as much anger as he could, he glared at Neil, who tried desperately to hide behind Ryan. But to no avail, for the larger man kept moving.

"I will let you off," Gray bargained, "If you deal with _her_." He motioned to the small storeroom, without necessity, for Neil was willing to agree to anything that freed him from the suspicion he'd placed himself in.

"Deal."

Gray wandered off optimistically happy about being out of that godforsaken closet.


	6. Fun Outings

_What You See..._

_**Chapter Six**_  
**Fun Outings **

The administrator of the hospital alternated between staring at the report, and at the bored man before him.

Gray was bored for two reasons. The first was that he was tired; this was far off his shift. The second was that he simply didn't care.

"Is this what you feel or are you just being coerced into odd ideals again?"

The insinuation was there, but Gray still didn't care; he was spineless and he could admit it freely. His boss and his job were the two things that no longer intimidated him. He shrugged, causing him to sink a little further into the most comfortable chair he could have ever imagined existed.

Gray gave a slight wave at the personality-sufferer standing over him, for whatever reason he was there….

The administrator was on a rant, and the present patient was adding his own off-target ideals, and Gray snoozed through the majority of it. Until, like all mindless rants of the administrator's sort, it ended abruptly.

Gray, sleep deprived as he was, was woken up hours later in the covered parking lot by the highly amused Robert. Robert, for his part, kindly waited for the one-sided joviality of the moment to pass before relating the administrator's directions that Gray had slept through.

"But… that's crazy!" not that Gray was in prime thinking mode, but all operating logic functionality lead to the same conclusion… _it is!_

"Well, you know Elliott," Robert chuckled, "He's just as bad as the patients."

**---**

The park was beautiful; which made Gray hate it even more. The sun was shining, burning his poor eyes; the birds were singing an annoying tune; children were playing, and getting far too close; Aki was… missing. Again.

Just because of the administrator's cunning plan.

_See if she's sane enough for an outing,_ he'd apparently said. Gray was wondering if it had been worth the nap.

"Hey, there she is!" the exclamation was lost on its intended targets, who he found, as he looked around himself, seemed to have bugged off without telling him. The little annoyance became worse, as Aki was already causing trouble. But it was okay – he could handle it himself.

_Yep… all on my own…._ So the thought became mantra as he approached the burly, yet elderly fellow that Aki had disturbed. She protectively curled around the thermos, as its rightful owner demanded it back. Gray stood off to the side, smiling moronically at the sight while he tried desperately to think of something, anything clever that could have helped the situation.

"Um, excuse me," seemed to be the best start, and the pouting Mr. Thermos turned to him. His resolve faltered, and he considered running away, neither for the first nor the last time.

"You see… she's uh… 'n escaped mental patient," usually true, it was a tactic that usually worked anyway. Usually, but this time it seemed to need something… else, "And she's…" _what? Think_! Delusional, helpless, schizophrenic, "She's sexually attracted to thermoses."

Well, it was _something_, "And you can't have your thermos back," Gray grabbed a hold of the woman, who still clutched the said possession, "but if you come to the Ironwood Asylum later, we'll reimburse you."

With that he followed his instinct and ran away, but at least he had Aki… albeit over his shoulder and with a stolen thermos.

Now he had to find the others, and they could have been anywhere.

**---**

Neil sulked over the steering wheel, forlorn to tracing the little wallet-confined photograph of a life that seemed so far away. Really, it had only been about two and a half weeks, but time was getting longer, and he was getting all the more depressed.

A door snapped open, startling him from the reverie. The wallet fell onto the dashboard as he jumped and twisted to see Gray was on the unhappy return.

"I wouldn-" the hastily attempted warning was a little late; as Gray tried to shove Aki in the backseat of the car… which had been occupied. Jane blinked awake just in time to avoid being clipped in the head by a flailing foot. She recoiled to the other side of the pew, glaring and mumbling what might have sounded something nasty had it not been impeded by a drawn-out yawn, "Never mind. Have fun?"

"Not really," Gray grimaced, climbing in beside Aki so she couldn't run again; and wondering all the while why they were allowed the most cramped vehicles ever, "Can we go back now?"

"Well… no; where is everyone?"

"I don't know; and I don't care! There's a really angry picnicker after me!" Beside him, Aki started to fuss.

"What, the old guy?" Jane asked, narrow-eyed in the direction of Mr. Thermos, who was slowly making his ambling way over to them. The moment she had spoken, Gray ducked below the line of sight with a wimpy affirmation.

"Don't worry," she snorted, "_I'll_ deal with him, okay?" Without confirmation, she set to the task, and had soon led Mr. Thermos away.

Back in the car, long seconds ticked by in silence.

"We're leaving already?"

Ryan made his appearance stealthily, managing to bring an encore of jumpiness to the group. With him was the quiet young scientist, Demitri, who had been brought along as a kind of counsel to ensure Aki's saneness.

Not fair, but so it went.

Once Jane returned – giddy, wholly ready to be gone in a rush, yet refusing to answer _why_ – they finally did the long awaited leaving.

The ride back to the hospital quickly became equal to the trip up to that point… and not just because there were five seats to six people.

Neil's wallet slid off the dashboard after one too many quick turns. Unfortunately, it slid right into Demitri's lap. With a natural curiosity worse than most stereotyped women his age, he absolutely had to peek inside casually…

…and stared in horror. Of course, it _could_ have been a joke, made less funny by the sudden attention that was fixed solely on him. And Neil's sudden, nervous grin in his direction that convinced him all the more that it was not a joke.

"Could I have that back? Please?" There was little room for demand, since Neil was already trying to navigate the narrow streets back to the hospital; his negotiations for his property had to be much nicer. Not that he wouldn't have been, but he did want to avoid certain difficulties. Which arose anyway, a couple of the backseat passengers caught on to the predicament, and Demitri found himself with a gun callously aimed in his direction and a verily pissed off shout that he couldn't discern words from.

Not to be confused with any tough guy, fool, or hero, the scientist emitted quite the high-pitched scream.

Gray, totally lost as he tried to figure out what was going on from under the momentarily sanest of them all, just stared as the weirdest thing in his normally boring existence unfolded.

The vehicle stopped abruptly, causing all to fall roughly under the power of inertia.

"Okay, look, we _talked_ about this…" Neil snapped, holding his hand over his shoulder, "Give."

"No," Jane growled, confirming the suspicion he didn't really have to prove.

"Yes; my car, remember?"

The short argument was just long enough for Demitri to escape and run for his fearful life. It ended when Neil abruptly snatched the offending weapon and threw it out the window.

… And Gray realized the odd fact that had been nagging – that none of the asylum employees, not even the security force, were allowed firearms. If they really, _really_ needed to subdue patients, a doctor was brought in with a sedative.

And they sure as hell never identified themselves as… _Wait… FBI?_ Gray sunk as far under Aki as possible, seeking to escape into the pushiness of the cushion beneath him.


	7. Joint Endeavor

_What You See..._

**_Chapter Seven_  
Joint Endeavor **

"You're FBI?"

Gray immediately regretted asking. Not only had his wanton question bring him under attention, Jane saw fit to stare at him with the blatant, disgusted expression of, _you're a useless and moronic excuse for a human being_. Neil, meanwhile, managed to mingle more hurt and anger in one look than he ever had in the two weeks Gray had known him, along with the aforementioned, _you're a useless and moronic excuse for a human being_ expression.

"No," Neil snapped, "_They're_ FBI."

Gray snuck a surprised glance at Ryan – he never would have suspected the quiet, unassuming man to be… well… suspicious.

"… I'm with the Agency. They're different, you know!"

"Yeah," Jane agreed, "We're better."

Which launched an argument, spanning topics from salary to general statistics.

"_You_ were the one who lost it!"

This switched the topic, and a second, equally time consuming quarrel broke out over what had to be done over the loss of Neil's wallet, along with the equally perplexing and entwined fact that they had, in fact, royally screwed up.

"Wonderful…"

Thus came the end of the second argument, this one having listed possible results, and discrediting every solution that came to light moments after conception.

Listening and often treated as though he wasn't there, Gray could only wait, and hope for an opportune escape. Aki had, time and again, proven how easy that could be. All _he_ had to do was… well, he tried letting her go; then, with a convenient excuse to chase after her, "disappear" around the first corner, never to be seen again.

She was, unfortunately, curled asleep on his lap. Not only not providing a lack of escape, but also hindering it by pinning him to the seat.

He tried to remember when life had gone from 'unbearable,' to 'sheer hell.' When he'd come back to awareness, after deciding upon the twelfth of November, he uncomfortably found himself as the center of attention.

"Would she be enough?"

_Oh,_ How self-centered could he be? Relieved, Gray went back to considering his escape.

"Not alone… but maybe with the old man."

"Hate to point this out, but he's back at the hospital."

Any minute now, his brilliant mind would come up with a way out.

"So? We go get him."

Any minute now…

"But we can't just saunter back in and demand 'one old man, please; preferably the one that is your downfall.'"

"Well-"

"And ask for fries with that, to make it realistic, 'cause it wouldn't work."

In his mind, Gray saw the perfect plan. Not only one that would save him from this nightmare, but one that would turn his life around completely. One that would make anew the waste he had created of existence. It was the most brilliant-

"We have a decoy."

Gray once again became aware of all attention on him, and his perfect plan turned to dust.

**---**

He didn't know how he got himself into this. He doubted he had very much to do with it at all. But he walked, step after step, to the administrator's office.

All he had to do was make a little report. That was it. One little report.

_Tell the truth, _they said; _It will be easy_, they said… He didn't believe a word of it.

He shuddered under the darkness of the room – for whatever reason, the curtains were drawn, and a single lamp did nothing to alleviate the evil atmosphere.

Elliott _was_ cracked, and of that there had never been a question.

So, scared out of his wits, he blurted out everything he knew – which was nothing… other than the whole thermos incident, the FBI/CIA co-venture of which he knew nothing more, and a little bit of nonsense brought about by sleep deprivation and fear.

Elliott took it all as hard truth, and seemed especially interested in the last bit.

Gray answered the questions as best he could: no, he hadn't taken down the address of the thermos wielding maniac. Yes, Dimitri did scream like a little girl. Yes, really. Yes… _really_. No, he didn't know why the feds were investigating the asylum. No, he wasn't quite sure when the light purple bunny blossom lipstick would be on the market. Yes, he'd be sure to look into it when he had a spare moment. No, he didn't know what this means.

And so forth.

Petrified, Gray barely neglected the last bit of the plan. Not his glorious plan, but the one imposed upon him by the damnable people who had hijacked his life and he had no will to fight back against. After all, if they knew about his parking tickets….

"Sir, if that would be all, I'll just check up on the woman before going home for today," He shuddered. It was _cold_ in this office!

"Why?" Elliott pouted; unrelated, the multi-personaed person indiscriminately went through his desk behind him.

"Okay, I'll just go home, then…"

"No!" Gray jumped at the volume of his boss's voice, but quickly stilled as the seething director came close to him. Rather, came _very_ close to him, "I want you to check up on the woman before you go home today. Can't be too careful, after all."

Gray hastily dismissed himself.

Behind the desk, the lunatic suddenly hunched, and stood to approach Elliott.

"Shall I… take his blood, massster?" he hissed, staring after Gray. Elliott shook his head.

"No, he's no danger. But I do need to make a phone call, if you don't mind."

"But of course, massster." Solid in his new personality, the man ambled out of the office amid a jingle of keys.

**---**

Gray had hurried back to Aki's cell. He only realized, upon his arrival, that this was his best chance for escape yet.

Except that now everyone was staring at him expectantly.

_Damn_.

And they continued staring, until Ryan finally thought fit to clear his throat and ask.

"Well?"

Gray could only cheep, "I think he bought it."

"Good!"

They went back to what they had been doing – namely packing Aki's things. While he wondered about that, he remembered, with a start, no less, that maybe escape was still an option.

As he was sneaking out, Neil was sneaking in; and Gray was foiled yet again.

"Where you think you're going?"

"Um," Gray thought fast, but it didn't work like it should have, "Nowhere."

"Oh," Neil gave him not a second glance. Unfortunately, he was still betwixt Gray and the exit, and the guard could only watch, helpless, as the damn… _fraud_! sought the attention of his peers.

A slight address; a second, slightly firmer cry for audience; and a final, shrill whistle later deemed exactly nothing in effect.

He stared upwards, as though willing divine inspiration. When that inspiration hit, he approached it with all the willingness of a suicide wish. With quiet resignation, he took a deep breath and said, calmly and near silence, "John Hoover was a crossdressing freak."

That turned a few heads, and raised Dr. Sid's eyebrows.

"Now that you're listening… you may want to know, _before_ your unlawful murder plans come to fruition," Neil refused to be backed into a corner over the matter, but did back slightly towards the wall for safe measure, "Someone let the loonies out of the bin."


	8. For the Love of Sanity

_What You See..._

_**Chapter Eight**_  
**For the Love of Sanity**

As it turned out, someone had, indeed, let the loonies out of the bin. The whole place crawled with schizophrenics, delusionals, psychotics, parapsychotics, addicts, cured patients who'd just come in for a sixth-month-since evaluation, 'the wrong guy's, and so many more.

Gray shuddered to think of it. Yes, one insane person every once in a while was fine and good to deal with – it made him feel sane, himself – but the whole hospital was a bit much.

But he found himself navigating the labyrinth of nutcases, dutifully escorting both Aki and her uncle off the premises under pain of _Hell to Pay_.

Whatever that meant. If he could have paid off Hell to relent on his pitiful life, he already would have done so.

Anyhow.

He guided Aki, seemingly pacified for now; Sid, slightly more agitated; and the troupe, oft loitering and taking their damn time, towards the underground parking lot. For some odd reason, the hospital had an underground tunnel leading to the underground parking lot that ran straight through the underground treatment facilities, which always managed to give Gray the creeps. Especially since the lights were almost always off.

None of the lunatics – with the exception of Aki – had explored the path, though, which made him think that they were more sane than he thought.

Somewhere, he estimated, past the electroshock therapy room and before the archaic instrument collection room, Gray bumped into someone. At first he thought it was one of his group, one that had gotten ahead of him in the darkness, but as he backed off he saw it wasn't so.

As if on cue, the lights flashed on – though they sputtered a bit at the first connection all season. The mystery man – or Robert, as he was more commonly known – stared at the lights with much irritation.

Gray, on the other hand, stopped having a panic attack and relaxed considerably. _Finally, someone sane!_

Robert, for his part, glanced at each one in turn, blinking with all the confusion due a man just run into by a loon, a cracked old man, two FBI agents, a CIA employee and one fellow security guard.

"What's going on?" he asked suspiciously, cautious for the warning signs hanging evident over everyone but Gray and Aki.

Oblivious, Gray rushed through the whole situation as he knew it. He forgot, and so left out, the little things – such as the drug racket, the counterfeiting scam, and the lip gloss thing. In the end, he was nearly screaming.

"It's a madhouse!" he exclaimed, and was gifted to an echo in the confined tunnel. After a pause, where everyone glanced this way and that as the sound drifted around them, Gray continued at a slightly lower volume, "I'm getting the hell out of here."

He might have suggested for Robert to do the same, if the man hadn't smiled in a completely psychotic way _and_ drawn a J-22 pistol out of… well, somewhere. Gray was too shocked to notice whence. If only Robert had only done one or the other, he might not have been so bewildered.

Heedless, the loyal guard continued his smile – through the psychosis, there was something dispirited about it.

"I can't let you do it, Gray," he hissed, "I can't let you destroy everything we've worked for over the years. You see, we're-"

And whatever Robert was about to say was cut off by the sound of gunfire… after which he promptly fell over screaming.

Not that anyone could hear it – the report deafened everyone for a few moments… even Ryan, who, wise to the situation, had covered his ears in priming.

After the ringing in his ears had dimmed, Gray could hear Neil berating Jane's choice of tact.

Hardly any improvement over being deaf.

**---**

While Gray and company were involved in the popular endeavor of saving ass, another was crawling around the institution like the worm he was.

The man of shifting identities had, by chance or by fate, found his way to Aki's cell. There, between the mattress and the wall, had slipped and been forgotten a piece of paper. Upon the paper was the study of a man under an atmosphere of the darkest wavelength.

The man studied the portrait intricately, as though trying to draw a conclusion of utmost importance.

At length, he folded the paper and tucked it away. Secure in his new persona, he stood tall and went about his business.

**---**

Back with Gray's party, things had become rather boring. Of their escape, there were no more incidents… In fact, things seemed to be going quite well. The parking lot had been unguarded, and Neil's car was where they had left it.

Things were going so well, in fact, that a stop at the All in One convenience store, which lay between the city limits and the hospital, was a safe and feasible idea for… various reasons.

Sid took Aki for a short walk around the parking lot; Ryan decided to get a snack; and Jane decided to call in a report to the field office from the corner payphone. Meanwhile, Neil kept a solid vigil over the conservative watch strapped to his wrist and Gray… well… stood by, regaining the feeling in his legs after Aki squashed his circulation.

A couple of minutes later… rather, exactly two minutes and seventeen seconds by Neil's watch, Gray attempted the age-old ceremony, oft regrettable as an experiment gone wrong, of small talk.

"So…" seeing as he had never met a CIA employee before, Gray was at a loss for what to say, "Must be an exciting life…."

He only trailed off because Neil was staring at him with all the affection of a wet cat. Or, at least, your ordinary alley cat… and not something exotic like a Turkish Van.

"Yeah, it must be…" Neil drawled, "But why don't you ask _them_ about it?"

"What do you mean?" Gray asked, his cowardly brain already seeking an escape route for this classic example of small talk gone wrong.

"I don't do this sort of thing," Neil elaborated, if not relieved to find someone to talk to, he seemed at least pleased to bitch about it, "I sit at a desk all day dabbling in magic code. I have no reason to be here except for this joint endeavor thing, and _if_ I lived through _this_ abuse, my wife's going to kill me for disappearing like _they_ made me."

Gray, stunned enough to not even _um…_ at the thought, "Interesting… I'm going to go get a pack of cigarettes, after all, so…" inched away all the while.

"Whatever…"

He made his way to the convenience mart, passing Jane (engaged, as it seemed, in a pleasant enough conversation with whoever was on the opposing line of the phone). He ignored that she ignored him.

As it turned out, Ryan was grocery shopping; instead of reminding him of his own needs, it instilled in Gray the fact that the FBI were in the habit of living off junk food.

And Gray, as he had decided he wanted cigarettes, set about purchasing his cigarettes… despite the fact that he never smoked. Following what seemed to be his honest fate, the clerk asked for his identification.

"Do I _look_ underage to you?"

"No, you look like a drugged out hippie," the clerk smiled, "But I'm not one to judge people by outward appearance. ID, please."

One long argument later, Gray grudgingly obliged. All the while he cursed the damn kid, who had probably never seen a hippie in his life, let alone a drugged out one.

His string of thought, mostly curses, and which was already tenuous at best, was cut short by the most inconvenient report. Inconvenient, that is, because it set his fearful mind wondering where said gunfire might have come from.

Not that he would have to wonder long, mind you, as Ryan was quick to investigate… and quick to drag the relenting security guard with him.


	9. Old Man Fu

_What You See..._

_**Chapter Nine**_  
**Old Man Fu**

So, whilst Gray and Ryan were shopping, Jane was using the phonebooth, and Aki was toddling around the parking lot (closely supervised by Sid), Neil resigned to keep a watch over that oh-so-interesting grease splotch on the pavement.

He twitched, irritably, at a sudden itch along his side. He soon found that scratching _hurt_, and there was a sizable tear in his shirt rapidly soaking up blood.

_How extraordinary_.

Although it was only after the car window shattered did he consider moving to be a good idea.

And only after he scrambled across the parking lot did he realize just how painful being shot at could be. The fact that someone – his best guess being Aki… or maybe it was Sid – was screaming at a piercing pitch wasn't much comfort, either.

When he finally landed in a safe place… or at least, not where he had been (as he wasn't quite sure _what_ he was doing), he took a moment to examine the three wounds he could feel. Not to mention the dozen or so he imagined at the epiphany that he hadn't exactly been aware of the first.

He was too startled to jump when Jane appeared around his corner, creeping around like the creeping kid… from that film, _The Creeping Kid_. He might have laughed at the half-assed attempt at action-heroinism, but only had _not bleeding to death_, not been his primary priority.

Of course, he was in little danger of actually bleeding to _death_ at the time, but he had no way of knowing that.

Out of breath, regardless, he watched Jane pace back and forth – in plain sight, no less, and quite obviously aware of it… though, judging the way her weapon-of-choice merely dangled from her fingers, she wasn't taking this being shot at thing quite seriously.

So, considering she was a fellow federal employee (and, regrettably, the only thing per moment protecting him) Neil took a moment to question her sanity,

"Jane, you do understand that you are _not_ Superman, right?"

"Of course I'm not," Jane scoffed, "For one thing, he makes _far_ too many mi-"

The stalwart agent paused long enough to snap about and retaliate to the slight glimmer beyond the radiance of the parking lot. Countless moments passed, interrupted by ceaseless gunfire. Plenty of time for the unfortunate target to let loose a Willhelm scream before unceremoniously dropping into the nearest aura of light cast by streetlamp.

"Mistakes," she reprised, moving to check on her kill. She spared a moment to study business card that had materialized by the dead woman's hand (_Transvestite Assassins Unlimited_), before tucking it away for further study.

Satisfied, she looked left, looked right, then proceeded to change to a full magazine.

Neil gawked at the corpse, shocked at the sheer abuse of force. He cringed as she returned, fearful of this newfound facet of her personality, "Overkill, much?"

"Nope."

This, in turn, set Neil wondering if all FBI were this conceited, or if Jane was the exception. He tried to worm away at her approach, wary of any bloodthirsty torment she might have inflicted upon him. He lost it when she knelt by him and placed the pistol on the ground.

"Get the heck away from me," he snapped, "I know for a fact that you are not a certified doctor."

But to no avail – Jane peeled his hands away from his wounds, poked and prodded at the bullet-holes (despite any and all protests), and, ultimately, appeared to be at a loss for what to do next.

So Neil couldn't help but laugh at her expression, "What's wrong; finally found a problem your precious little academy didn't prepare you for?"

"Shut up; I'm trying to think."

"Living proof that there's a first time for everything."

"I said _shut up_!"

This sent Neil into another fit of giggles… which hurt. In the far back of his mind, he wondered how much blood he lost. It seemed to be everywhere, which wasn't a good sign; but on the other hand, Jane _was_ caught in a moment of imperfection, which was worth it for all the torment she was as an associate.

Something over her shoulder caught his attention – something ragged and bloody… he just had trouble focusing on it. It didn't much help that he felt so giddy.

"Uh… Jane?"

"Not now."

"You sure? It's important."

Actually, it was imperative, but he wasn't quite thinking straight.

"I already told you: be quiet," Jane growled, "Don't make me say it again."

Neil considered this. Was it more important to be polite or to point out a glaringly obvious, yet avoidable, probability? It took him a couple more moments than it might normally have taken him to come to a satisfactory resolution over the situation, but he saved time by considering it _as good a time as any_ to play hero and take stupidly suicidal risks.

Thus did he take a stupidly suicidal risk; he cuffed his errant guardian.

On a worse day, he imagined that she might have hit him back, abandoned him, simply killed him, or felt it necessary to humiliate him in some elaborate, sadistic, and overall worse than death fashion.

Fortunately, she merely took the hint, and dove for her discarded weapon.

**---**

This is what Gray overheard at the pinnacle of resounding. When they got outside, to a virtually empty, yet shadowy parking lot, Ryan gave him the simple instructions to _Find Aki_.

Actually, it was a bit more complicated than that, but he'd think about that later. First he actually needed to _Find_ Aki.

_Then again_, he realized as he ran down the decrepit back road that he was free to flee and start a new life somewhere over the rainbow and far away….

Oblivious to his surroundings, he ran right into a polearm-wielding maniac.

The woman… well, it was a little dark to tell, but he certainly thought it was a woman, despite the beard, grinned fiendishly.

Startled, Gray ran in the opposite direction – only to trip over the frail old man that he was _supposed_ to be looking for.

Apparently, the frail old man knew styles and methods of martial arts that are _far_ to impressive for anyone to even begin to describe them in written text, let alone a hack-writer of the lowest stature.

But rest assured: it was _totally sweet_.

"…but where's Aki?" Gray asked while Sid was catching his breath. The old man cleared his throat, coughed, and applied logic to the situation.

"Well, this road leads into the city… so unless she ran off into the woods, we should be able to catch up with her."

Gray liked that reasoning, mostly because of a narrow-minded view that only a lunatic would want to go into those woods at night.

His will over the matter dwindled after half an hour's brisk pace turned up no Aki. He decided to turn back if she didn't show in ten minutes, but… since he didn't have a method of telling time (aside the unreliable and boring procedure of counting, himself) he overshot the mark by about fifteen.

Or maybe more, but he lost his inaccurate count when headlights appeared down the road ahead. At which he simply stopped and stared.

At first, he was secretly pleased: this was his chance to 'go for help' without anyone suspecting.

Then he was terrified: as the vehicle approached, it became painfully obvious that it was Elliott's car.

Finally, he didn't know what to think when it turned out that Aki was driving the car.

Not one to look to the gift horse's teeth, Sid ushered Gray into the back seat before climbing in after. The old man hadn't even time to close the door before they tore off into the night. A distance later, Aki put a temporary stop to the reckless route, managed the car about, and they tore off towards the city lights.


	10. The AntiClimax

_What You See..._

_**Chapter Ten  
**_**The AntiClimax**

So… It had come to this: a smashed up car against a brick wall.

The wreck was inconvenient, at best. Now he had to _walk_ Aki and her uncle to the middle of the city, where the police station resided.

Trust this to be a one-police station-city.

The walk wasn't terrible. Few people were on the street, and no one was in a way to look at them strangely. Moderate temperature, crickets chirping, overcast sky lit up from the city's own luminance… yes, it was a nice night.

Except when he thought about the psychotics that were, no doubt, stalking their every step. They were thoughts that made him press onwards.

Surprisingly, they made it to the building unmolested.

Although… that only turned out to be a minor blessing in light of the oh-too-familiar man who had gathered around him a crowd of police workers, convicts, and general folk around the area and was preaching thusy:

"…And blessed is the Greek, for he shall inherit the earth!"

How he got there, Gray never figured out. Not because it was mysterious and supernatural – it was actually quite simple – but just because he could never be arsed to figure it out.

But Gray was going to stand for it no longer! These lunatics had given him hell from the first day on the job, and now it was time to strike back!

He stormed up the steps, shoving past the masses until he was face to face with this multi-faced rat.

Now, Gray wasn't sure _what_ he intended to do, exactly, but it was going to be good… sorry, _totally sweet_. He deserved that much.

He grabbed a hold of the multi-personaed person's shirt, and glared deep into those shallow eyes.

"Listen buddy, no one wants to hear it. Why don't you just give it up, and become a normal, _productive_ citizen?"

Instead of accomplishing pure terror, as intended, and getting the man to settle down, it inspired to lunatic to scream and fight back.

"No one can oppress us! _For the little people_!"

With that, the man punched Gray. It was a weak punch, but his position on the stairs and lack of preparation made him an easy target – he fell back, past the crowd that parted uniquely for him, and knew little more of the event after his head struck the concrete.

The crowd applauded politely, until someone realized that it wasn't an act.

**---**

The only way Gray knew he was dead was that Robert's voice was babbling away to him. Aside that, he might have assumed it was the local medical hospital by the peeling eggshell white paint, the midroom curtain, and, of course, the various types of hospital equipment laying about the place.

"Oh, and sorry about that whole trying to kill ya thing… I mean, you know how it is, right?" Robert finished his babble, yet continued staring at his fellow guard with that happy-go-lucky grin on his face.

"Yeah," Gray croaked, "Don't worry about it."

A pity. He thought, for a scant and fleeting moment, that he had made it to heaven.

As it turned out, he had been taken in with a mere concussion. And he couldn't stay at the hospital anymore, as the nurse so kindly informed him ("_Get out!_").

On his way through the lobby, he heard a collection of familiar voices – per always, incentive to flee had he not already been spotted.

"Hey!" Ryan beamed, waving him over. A gesture that he observed, though he sluggishly dragged his feet for the six foot distance… and was just in time to overhear the last of a particularly vehement argument.

"…But it was fun!" Jane was insisted, "Let's all do it again sometime!"

"Hell, no!" Neil argued, though amended a few moments later, "Any other lifetime, _maybe_. Right now, I've got too much to lose."

"What happened with Elliott and Aki and… what's his name?" Gray asked, interrupting but not really caring. At least, not until he was the exclusive recipient of some rather angry glares.

Ryan pulled him aside to explain the situation: how 'what's his name,' was safely back in an institute…. Though not _that_ institute; Aki was given, custodially, to her uncle; and Elliott was arrested for smuggling all sorts of things, drug trafficking, ("counterfeiting, extortion, fraud, forgery" as Jane added), slavery, and a few misdemeanors. Most specifically, parking tickets….

"You all right? You look a bit pale," Ryan observed, lastly. Gray smiled and nodded.

"I just remembered, I have to feed my… er… dog. I've left her alone far too long and she likes to chew the furniture if she gets hungry, and uh… yeah, see you around sometime."

And with that, Gray escaped his torment.

Or so he thought.


	11. Epilogue

_What You See..._

_**Chapter Eleven**_  
**The Epilogue**

It was quite the house. Through the glass that replaced most of the walls, any given passerby could see the plants that crowded, unnecessarily, for light and celebrity; it gave it that greenhouse look. Walking along the outside path to the threshold, Gray surmised how Aki would probably have a much better life here than in the institution, whether or not it was headed by a sociopathic crimelord.

The spontaneous social call was all his. He figured that he may as well do the polite thing and check to see how everything was advancing, even if he weren't truly interested. It wasn't like he had anything better to do, being temporarily laid off as of the moment.

He rang the doorbell and waited, and waited until he rang the doorbell again.

About the time he figured to be leaving, he was scared out of it by a very demanding, very loud series of commands.

"_Freeze; Detective Brea, NYPD!_"

As if he hadn't had enough of law enforcement in the last week…

He froze, as per instructed, and turned when asked to face the officer.

Only it wasn't an officer.

It was Aki… with a banana deftly aimed to maim.

****

The End

* * *

**Working Title**: _What You See..._

**Inspiration**: Too much psychology in too short a time, plus a little philosophy added in.

**Noteworthy**: It was fun. It was fun and I'd do it again, it was that fun.

**Disambiguation**: ... Can you disambiguate a story like this? Methinks it's far too silly.

**Series**: _What You See..._; Gray Edwards' City of Wanton Depravity.

_Derivative work of material © Square Pictures, Squaresoft. Reformatted to abide by 'site standards. None of the original text has been modified, 'cept in case of typo._


End file.
